YESTERDAY, a significant number of private school students began on-line education programs. I am cautiously optimistic about the efficacy of these programs. Many students have acquired confidence in the use of computers, and their tech-savviness will overcome many obstacles.
On the other hand, I have not been convinced that classroom learning, where class size often reaches 50 students in both public and private schools, can be efficient.
In 2018, the Department of Education (DepEd) participated in an international survey which assessed the scholastic achievement of 15 year old students in English, Science, and Mathematics. Unfortunately, the Philippines emerged at the bottom of around 60 countries which took part in the survey.
The results were issued in late 2019. It was proposed that there should be a bicameral hearing for education committee members to try to assess the reasons for our dismal performance. I believe that even during the difficulties of COVID-19 we should try to assess the reasons why our education system does not produce globally competitive results.
The American educationist B.F. Skinner asserted: Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
This means that we remember ideas longer if we really understand them. Rote learning helps us to hurdle the next grading period but our long-term understanding does not survive.
A recent article by Ateneo’s Professor Queena Lee-Chua supported this hypothesis and gave examples as to how performance in mathematics improves if the aim is really to understand as opposed to merely temporarily coping with the mechanics. When the K-12 curriculum was being formulated during the period (2010-2016) when Bro Armin Luistro was responsible for DepEd, Lee-Chua was involved for a short time but unfortunately soon disengaged. If, as many believe, K-12 implementation has not been demonstrably successful, it may be an opportune time to reconsider her ideas.
Paradoxically, the challenges of providing education when, due to the pandemic, crowded classrooms are not an option, may actually improve quality. This is because the material, presented on-line, will have to reach out to the student to really help to understand what is being taught.
I am glad that our governance is much more risk-averse with regard to the virus than the US where a population of around 330 million has already suffered 175,000 deaths (525 per million), whereas our population of 110 million (one third of the US) has ‘only’ 3,000 fatalities (27 per million).
Still horrible but it is gratifying that our populace is reasonably compliant with the quarantine protocols that have been implemented./PN
